Kay2

I have business in Vienna starting the afternoon of July 3. I have just the week before for a vacation for my husband and me. My top interest is mountains--seeing snowcapped peaks, hiking through green meadows with mountains in view, riding gondolas or trains up the steep parts to get some elevation for walks with views. However, we do not like to stay in one place for longer than 3 nights, so we can go to at least one more destination before heading to Vienna. We have been to Vienna before and Southern Germany including Mittenwald, Garmisch, salt mine, and the castles. We travel fast paced and light via public transport and local taxis, stay in modest hotels or B&Bs, and eat a lot of picnics in the outdoors and on trains.

Here is what I have so far with questions:
Day 1: Arrive MUC early, train to Munich Ost-Jenbach-Zillertal (every 2 hrs takes 3+ hrs)
Walk in valley, visit tourist office, plan next days' hikes; 3 nights here
Q-Where should we stay? Mayrhofen seems to have good train/bus connection,
access to at least 2 lifts to trails and views. Zell am Ziller better? Or am I totally offbase
with this destination? The PR people for every Alpine town and valley say theirs is the
loveliest with the most trails, etc. so it is hard to decide.

Day 2 & 3: Hikes on different mountains
Day 4 (Sunday): train to Salzburg (every 2 hrs takes ~ 3 hrs) + bus to St Gilgen or St Wolfgang 1+ hr
Night in St Gilgen or St Wolfgang

Day 5: Walks in lake area
Q-Should we go to St Gilgen, focus on the gondola up Zwoelferhorn and views/walks
there or St Wolfgang and the cog railway up Schafberg and views/walks there?
St Gilgen sounds quieter, the gondola runs later (6pm) than rail (4pm), but in case we
don't have enough time for both, we want the "better" mountaintop experience.
Walk, if time take boat on lake (only runs to 6-7pm).
Night in St Gilgen or St Wolfgang

Day 6: uncertain
Possibly more around lake? Take bus to Bad Ischl, leave bags, and take train to
Hallstatt to look around, lunch, maybe go up nearby mountain to 5Fingers view? Not
worthwhile considering our other destinations? Just go to Bad Ischl for day? Other
suggestion?
Return to Salzburg or somewhere else along main E-W rail line to spend night.
Suggestions?

Day 7: morning train to Vienna.
If we stay in Salzburg, we can leave as late as 9am.

I originally planned Sunday/Day 4 only to train to Salzburg and spend evening/night there before heading on to lake country. However, this seemed to push us to spend Night 6 in the lake country. Although we can get from there via bus/train to Vienna, we have to start out by 7:30am and have fewer options than if we just use the main E-W rail line that morning.

Our hotel will also require us to transfer to U-Bahn to get to Karlsplatz area no matter which train or station we use.

I go off to my first meeting that afternoon and my husband gets to pack up to head home the next morning, leaving me in Vienna. I am thinking of heading to Cesky Krumlov and Prague on my own after the meetings finish, but that is another story.

Thanks for any advice for our short tour.

logos999

Mayrhofen is your best option in the Zillertal. So many tourists im summer. I don't think the valley is that beautiful but people like it.. Be aware, the train is VERY slow, it's a "tourist train". The trip looks like a lot of stress imho.

Kay2

logos999--

Every valley says it is the most beautiful and it is so difficult to tell.
Would you suggest another one that is accessible by train/bus in the region?
I was so confused by all the websites and claims that I was almost ready to toss in the towel and just plan a trip to Switzerland for a week, then fly or take a long train ride to Vienna, but I would like to visit somewhere we haven't been before in the Alps.

Since writing out the itinerary above, I've rethought and now think we will move to just Salzburg on Sunday and do Monday day trip to lake region and have another day to still fill in. Two destinations in one week is as low stress as we can enjoy.
Just found the Red Bull Hangar 7 at the Salzburg Airport that is perfect destination for my pilot husband to offset any concert or marionette performance I take him to, so I think we can use a day in Salzburg.

logos999

Close to Innsbruck, I'd stay at Neustift / Stubaital. It's not that Mayrhofen isn't "nice", it's the tourist masses and the traffic in the valley that put me off!!! I'd spend the day in Salzburg and some time in St. Wolfgang too (knowing it's busy place). Stubaital by bus from Innsbruck would be my other option.
By car I'd chose Gerlos/Königsleiten or Kals am Großglockner (my favorite) for hiking destinations.

logos999

Been to Telfes/Stubai, Hotel Tyrol, a day in last October on my free wednesday, loved the place.

logos999

Ops, sorry, that was Hotel Montana, not Tyrol.

AisleSeat

Don't expect a lot of snow in July except maybe on the very tops of the mountains. If you like nature and walking check out the Englisher Garten in Munich. Salzburg is touristy and not rxactly hiking the alps but a charming place to visit. Koenigsee near Berchtesgaden is another lovely place to visit.